


Prologue

by moonquartz



Series: Vessel AU [1]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Alternate Universe, Kidnapping, Minor Character Death, Possession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:21:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26309248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonquartz/pseuds/moonquartz
Summary: "We have orders directly from Lord Zanza himself to secure His next holy vessel. Step aside," The guard's face was obscured by his mask, but his tone left little of his demeanor to the imagination. "Move or we will be forced to take action."
Series: Vessel AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1911580
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> first time ever writing fic, but the idea is something ive been kicking around and working on since 2016 lmao

With the sun beginning its descent in the sky, the landscape was stained with brilliant hues of orange and yellow. Another day was coming to an end, as sunny and quiet and uneventful as any before it. In the gentle evening of Colony 9, residents were finishing up the last of their business before heading home. The typical murmur of the shopping district was winding down, vendors saying goodbye to their customers with the promise of being there again bright and early tomorrow. A young couple among them, with the advantage of running their shop out of their house within the district itself, simply flipping their sign around to signal their closure for the night.

As the woman swept their doorstep, a little boy, no older than 4, suddenly ran up and wrapped his arms around her legs, trailed by a young man with dark shoulder length hair.

"Dunban! How was he today?" She asked, putting her hand on her son's head.

"Good, as always. He's a joy to have around." The man, Dunban, replied. "Should I pick him up same time tomorrow?"

"No," The other man answered this time, coming to stand next to his wife, "we're taking the day off tomorrow to spend as a family. It's been too long since we've had time together. Thank you for offering though, we really appreciate you taking care of him during the day." 

Dunban smiled, running his hand through his hair. "No thanks necessary, it's no problem keeping him around; he helps keep Fiora and Reyn busy," A small chuckle escaping him. "I think babysitting him is more help to me than you".

From outside the Colony, the calm was unexpectedly broken with the arrival of a small fleet of Alcamoth airships. Sleek ships that towered over the rougher buildings of the Colony, their gleaming white bodies a stark contrast to the settlement they stood before. This in and of itself was no cause for immediate alarm, as Colony 9 was not on bad terms with Alcamoth. All the lower colonies had at least a tenuous political relationship with the capital after all. But the residents outside to see the airships arrive were unsettled nonetheless; it wasn't often ships came to colonies this low on the Bionis. In fact, no one could remember the last time it had happened. A small crowd of curious onlookers gathered at the entrance bridge as the passengers of the ship exited their vehicles.

Immediately the air was filled with an uneasy tension, the residents shifting and looking to each other with worry. Ambassadors were common visitors to the middle colonies, but they rarely --if ever-- ventured lower than Colony 6. But the lower colonies were still on the capitals radar, and efforts to expand its reach were never off the table. But what stepped off the ships was not an ambassador, not just some envoy sent to spread their ideals, but members of the _Divine Guard_ itself.

They were all clad in the same uniform, an embellished variation of the standard Alcamoth guard uniform. A striking ensemble of silver and gold, with curved masks that covered their faces completely. Their snow white wings were long and impeccably groomed, reaching down past their lower backs. Some carried shields with Alcamoth's crest on them, and all were armed with thin swords.

The crowd fell silent, shocked. The inner workings of Alcamoth were largely a mystery to the inhabitants near the bottom of the Bionis, but the Divine Guard was well known nonetheless. A small selection of highly trained elite guards, ruthless in their duty to protect Zanza. The silence quickly turned to frantic whispers, with everyone throwing out theories for what they could want from the Colony. The whispers were hushed once again as the guards approached the bridge.

"Stand back." The leader of the squadron spoke with such firm confidence, no one dared disobey, instantly clearing a path for them to cross into the Colony. "We have come under orders of Lord Zanza to retrieve His Grace's next honourable vessel, as was foretold by prophecy." The residents looked to each other again, confusion with the guards words apparent on their faces. But the guards had no time for the crowds bewilderment, pushing right through anyone who hadn't yet cleared a path for them. The residents could only watch as they approached the unassuming house and business place of the Colony's most well known crafters.

Noticing the armed guards advancing towards them, the father of the young boy sent Dunban away and stepped in front of his wife and child. "Can I help you?" he motioned with his hands for his family to stay behind him. 

"We have orders directly from Lord Zanza himself to secure His next holy vessel. Step aside," The guard's face was obscured by his mask, but his tone left little of his demeanor to the imagination. "Move or we will be forced to take action."

"What does that mean? 'Holy vessel'? Alcamoth has promised to leave us alone."

"I am not required to divulge anything to you. Release the boy."

"Does it have to be him? Please... he's our only son." 

"His appointment as Lord Zanza's vessel was foretold by prophecy, you should be honoured he has been destined for such a task."

"Can we at least come with him?" The father was getting desperate, making no progress with the uniformed man.

"No. None from this Colony may accompany him. Rest assured, he will be taken care of better than he would ever be in this place."

The guards had been stalled long enough. Pushing the man to the ground, they advanced on the woman and her child; once again demanding the boy be relinquished to them. The woman's pleas were ignored as her son was pulled away from her, handed off to another guard who promptly pressed his hand over the boy's eyes, putting him to sleep with ether. With the boy in their custody, the Divine Guard squadron started their retreat from Colony 9.

"No!" The father of the child steadied himself on his feet again. "I won't let you take my son!" His voice shook as he made a desperate lunge toward the guard holding his child, a last ditch attempt to save him. He latched on to the one holding his son, using all his strength to try and wrestle him from the guard's arms.

The struggle did not last long, however, with a flash of sharp silver from another guard's blade piercing the Homs through his abdomen, halting his attack immediately. He fell to his knees, eyes wide and hands weakly clutching the wound. 

"I warned you to let us proceed with our orders. Let this be a lesson to all of you not to interfere with Lord Zanza's wishes." The lead guard's voice was disturbingly calm, unfazed by the choking sounds from the mortally wounded man in front of him.

For a moment it felt like the whole world stood still. Dunban, now watching from the sidelines, felt his blood run cold. The other Colony residents looked on in horror, seemingly frozen where they stood, unable to even scream. The moment was shattered when the man's wife, grief stricken, followed in her husband's steps and threw herself at the strangers abducting her son. But like her husband, her charge was cut short almost instantly, this time from a powerful blast of ether from one of the guards. Her lifeless body hit the ground a second later, next to her dying spouse.

"May they return to the bionis and find peace for eternity," A hollow statement from one of the guards, almost seeming like a mockery of young couples' final moments. 

The bodies were promptly forgotten by the group, as they continued to withdraw from the Colony. The leader hung back, directing his attention to the crowd that was still silent with shock. "Take pride in what your Colony has provided to Lord Zanza here today. What other Colonies wouldn't give to play such a pivotal role in Bionis' history." The residents bristled at the guards words, but after the display of the Divine Guard's disregard for their lives, no one dared to even breathe out a word of dissent. Dunban burned with rage, his whole body tense and screaming for him to take action, but he reminded himself that he couldn't throw his life away. These guards wouldn't discriminate and he had to stay alive for Fiora.

The squadron returned to their ship without further incident, with young Shulk in their care. The vessel of Zanza had been successfully procured, and they departed for Alcamoth immediately.


	2. Chapter 2

Shulk woke up on the floor of an unfamiliar room. His head ached, and his eyes were unaccustomed to the dim light of the room he was in. How did he get here? Last he remembered he was at home in the Colony with his parents. A group of people with wings on their head and strange clothes came up to them and then... 

And then he was here. Panic began to set in, being alone in a place he'd never seen before. He noticed his clothes were new too, gone were his comfortable handmade Colony clothes, now replaced with flowing white robes. 

Confusion gave way to fear as the silence started to get to him. His eyes began to adjust to the room, and looking around revealed that it was a huge hall, elaborately decorated with rich tapestries and statues. Ornate sconces lined the walls providing the dim light. Being raised in Colony 9, Shulk had never seen any place as fancy as this, otherwise he would have recognized it as a cathedral. Holy and sacred, a divine space built to house the revered blade of Zanza.

At the opposite end of the hall he could see a large altar displaying said intricate sword. _Approach me._ It was as if it was... calling to him. Once he laid eyes on it, Shulk felt inexplicably drawn towards the weapon, forgetting the unease the room had filled him with just moments before. Slowly making his way towards it, a voice, just barely louder than a whisper, continued to resound in his head.

 _Closer. Come closer, child._ Something was talking to him. It was faint but yet he heard it crystal clear, as if the source was only centimeters from his ears. _Become your destiny._ The voice was gentle, but it lacked any genuine warmth. 

As though he was in a trance, the young boy walked down the center aisle between rows of seats. A few times he nearly tripped over the long robes he now donned, but never once did his gaze slip from the altar.

The sword absolutely dwarfed Shulk when he finally came to stand beneath it. He stared up at the towering weapon, which stood with its blade pointing upright, fully enraptured by the complex designs that adorned it. _Take hold of it._ The voice still whispered into his mind, filling his thoughts with nothing but itself.

"Wh-who are you?" Shulk meekly spoke into the darkness, unsure if the voice could even hear him. 

_I am your creator, your God. I am everything._

Shulk didn't understand, knowing nothing of gods. Children in Colony 9 didn't learn anything of the sort. But his curiosity got the better of him and he continued to ask questions. "What does that mean?"

_All will become clear soon enough. Place your hands on the sword and submit to me, it is your purpose._

Once again the voice urged him to touch the weapon displayed before him. He still didn't understand, but something about the voice was compelling, feeding into a growing impulse to follow through with its demands. Reaching his small hands toward the hilt of the sword, he felt a physical pull, as if he was being drawn in by it. The air around him was suddenly charged with electricity as though it was reacting to his proximity. 

The moment Shulk's hands grasped the hilt of the sword, he was paralyzed and unable to remove them. A bright glow began to emanate from the blade, the sudden change from the low light of the candlelit room hurting the boys eyes, making him shut them tightly. The light steadily got more intense, filling the room with its golden radiance, reflecting off of the various metal ornaments that furnished the great cathedral.

The feeling was indescribable, he felt his blood run cold in his veins, only to be replaced immediately by an all consuming fire that burned him from the inside out. _Fear not. It is holy fire to purify you. You will be reborn as my divine vessel and will be granted eternal life._ The words of the voice barely registered as the pain shooting through his limbs threatened to make him lose consciousness. 

He couldn't move. He couldn't scream. It was as though his sense of self was being meticulously torn apart, leaving him feeling hollow and lifeless. If he wasn't frozen in place he's sure he would've collapsed to the ground. It was terrifying, these sensations unlike anything he'd ever experienced, shaking him to his core.

Though it felt like an eternity, the pain eventually subsided, vanishing without any lingering discomfort. Next he knew, a new feeling, bright and alive, a warmth that spread from his hands on the hilt of the sword throughout his body. The hollowness he'd felt dissipated, replaced with a fiery vitality that radiated from within his chest. 

At once the light faded and he was able to loosen his grip on the sword, and immediately he fell to his knees. Despite the new life coursing through his veins, he was exhausted. _Rest now, you have done your part._ The voice returned. It sounded different now, no longer just a whisper; but a smooth calm adult voice. _I will take things from here._ What did it mean by that? He thought to ask, but the voice was right, he was feeling tired and all he wanted was to rest. 

While Shulk's mind faded into a deep sleep, his body did not follow. The new inhabitant in the boy's body took a moment to adjust to its new host, taking control now that the child's soul slumbered. He observed the way his new limbs moved, relishing in the feeling of once again having a physical form. But the body was small and uncoordinated, unlike the adult vessels he had lived in previously, and he let out a deep sigh knowing he was now at the mercy of the Homs natural growth patterns. It would be quite a few years before the boy would be able to assume the duties as the deity vessel of the bionis.

No matter, if the passage of fate dictated that it ought to be this way, then so be it. A decade or so was but a blink of an eye for an immortal being, after all. He would just have to be patient, let the priests and the royal family handle public matters while the boy was raised and moulded into his perfect vessel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im not sure when the first chapter of the main story will be up, i have the first two started but there are some finer details i havent quite ironed out yet

**Author's Note:**

> i have most of the story roughly planned out, but no guarantee ill be able to consistently update. ill do my best


End file.
